Frank
Board Rips!
Rode the 5/6" in Chelan and it rips! Want to try the smaller ones next.
Description
ALTERNATIVE SURF HIGH PERFORMANCE
Inspired by the river wave and City Wave® high performance surf culture in Munich that has spread around the world and now includes our regional Bend, Boise, and Chelan alternative surf playgrounds and probably one, two or three coming to your zone too! The Whirlpool is a low volume “river focused” high performance shortboard infused with some amazing features developed through our wake and ocean surfing shape experiments. A classic squash tail with a smooth curved rail line, matching rocker, single concave and tri-fin set up translates to proven high performance. Our PAD (particle acceleration dish) concave placed in the front fin area increases water flow rate on the board surface where you need it most and creates magical speed and a loose feel. A visibly chined rail offers catch free forgiveness while at the same time reducing rail volume and allowing aggressive precise high performance surfing. To take it over the top performance wise we also added a top deck concave under your front foot for positive skate like control in and above the water. Infinite waves, radical surfing, an all access pass to surf progression... Whirlpool!
Technology
DANG DIFFICULT TO DING, ENVIRONMENTALLY NICER, JUST GOT LIGHTER!
NITROGEN CELL ECO UPCYCLED FOAM
Strong, Light, Waterproof
Environmentally friendly non ozone depleting Nitrogen blowing agent
25-40% Recycled content
Won’t absorb water if you do get a ding (Closed cell)
Elliptical engineered columnar cells provide toughness top to bottom and elasticity in side impact
100% of offcuts and shavings recycled into more foam
BIO-MATRIX PLANT BASED RESIN
Strong, Nice and Craftsperson Friendly
Plant based glycerin chemistry
Low VOC (shop smells nice)
Surfs smooth and responsive (High performance)
Impact resistant and resilient (Lasts a long time)
BIO-MATRIX PLANT BASED RESIN
Tough & Resiliant
High impact and break strength fiber
Great rebound and memory
G+ GLASS
Lightweight Strengthner
Made to Mike Olson specs, ideal to our process
Lightweight
Strong
Environmentally and craftsperson friendly
QUAD AXIAL G GLASS
Rail Reinforcement
Four axis fiber strength 0º/90º/45º/45º
Lightweight
PRESSURE TREATED HEXALITE
Strong, Light & Smooth
Smooth riding vibration absorption layer
Impact and ding resistant
Ultra lightweight
LIB TECH LEASH PLUG
Strong & Smooth
Smooth riding vibration absorption layer
Impact and ding resistant
HAMMERBOX URETHANE FIN BOX
Strong & Light
Glass reinforced Urethane
Lakeside Surf, City Wave tested
FCS II®, Two-Tab, Lib RRIPs® compatible
Sizes / Specs
| Length | 5'0" | 5'2" | 5'4" | 5'6" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 18.3" | 18.5" | 18.8" | 19" |
| Thickness | 2.0" | 2.0" | 2.1" | 2.2" |
| Volume | 20.4 cl | 21.5 cl | 23.0 cl | 25 cl |
Reviews
Customer Reviews
5.0
Based on 9 reviewsEd
Solid River Board
Very awesome high performance surf board for high performance river waves. the unique concave rails provide a skate like feel to the board, pivots easily but also grabs rail when you lean hard enough. Tail sits deep in the water and just gives a overall sporty performance on the wave. A great dedicated river board from the wizards at Lib-Tech. Hopefully they make more river specific boards soon!
Joe
You know you want one!
After looking at several different boards that would work in the river I bought the 5'2" Whirlpool last spring for the Scout Wave in Salida. Small and light weight it is very easy to bike down with. I opted for our Lib-tech board because I was sure I was going to be knocking it about and, in fact, it was fully battle tested on its first day in the river early May. Going from a 6' foamie to the whirlpool my first 2 drop ins were disastrous and I slammed it against the wall on river left hard enough to make those on river right cringe. The damage was minimal so I stoped crying and started shredding. This board is awesome! I'm a big guy to be acid dropping on such a small board (my wife doesn't like me dropping in on her board), but the Whirlpool has yet to show any real impact damage despite 3 months of heavy use. I see all of you in the line up checking out my Whirlpool, you know you want one, it was a great buy for me and it will be for you too!
Cole B
Land Locked Slayer
I live in Leavenworth and go up to Lakeside in Chelan every couple weeks. This board has changed the alpine surf game for me. It generates lots of speed, tacks, and cuts back like crazy. I am 6'5" and around 240 lb and the 5'6" is plenty of volume for me. I am excited to try the 5'4" sometime in the future. Thanks to the team at Mervin for continuing to make bomber and innovative products that make life so much better. Uncle Rich, you the Man! Best board I have ridden on a standing wave.
Edward
Whirlpool 5,6
Let me preface this by saying I’m somewhat of a new river surfer, so I don’t have a lot of experience regarding different board types. HOWEVER, going from the standard foam board setup to this WP has been a game changer for me. The board has a thin shape, so you tend to sit more inside the wave than skipping on top like I did on the foam board. Lots of feedback when leaning into the rails that make it easier for a newb like me to figure out turns. LOTS of progression within a small amount of time on this board. Can’t wait for next season to rip peak Colorado peak run-off on this thing. Also big shout out to Lib Techs customer service. They were very patient answering my barrage of questions before I bought this board. You can’t go wrong with Lib Tech!